


taste your blood in my mouth

by somehowunbroken



Series: we're a fight waiting to happen [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: College Hockey, Gen, Injury, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 19:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3394310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somehowunbroken/pseuds/somehowunbroken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek goes down on the ice. Dex takes matters into his own hands, apparently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	taste your blood in my mouth

When everything goes well, when everyone skates like they're supposed to and people stay in their lanes, Derek thinks his job is pretty easy.

Today? Today, not so much.

"Shit," he breathes, because he can see it in slow motion - the slight turn on the opposing team's forward's back skate, the way he leans his shoulder down just that little extra bit, the distance between them closing as Derek tries to stop, to slow, and realises that he can't.

He slams into the forward and goes flying, skates disappearing from beneath him. He does his best to twist out of the way while he's in the air, trying to figure out what the best way to land will be. He doesn't notice until he's almost down on the ice that the forward is also falling, and Derek being flat on his back means that the forward's elbow is going to hit him squarely in the chest.

Derek coughs, wheezes, and tries not to think about the way his ribs are creaking, how he can't really pull in a full breath. He tries to figure out if something's broken, but his vision is going kind of fuzzy around the edges as the forward groans and pushes off of his chest.

"Stop," Derek chokes out, trying to curl up, and that -

That was a mistake, he thinks as black blooms up around the edges of his vision. That was really, really not a good choice.

-0-

There are a few hazy moments where he's not sure if he's out of it or actually aware of what's going on around him. He sees Coach Murray's face above him, telling him to _hang in there, Nurse, we're getting the medic_ ; he sees Jack and Bitty skating in circles around him; he hears someone roar his name, _Nursey Nursey Derek_ and then _I'll fucking kill you_. There's the swish of skates on ice, and maybe the crowd noise swells, but then the medics are dropping to the ice beside him and pressing on his ribs and he definitely doesn't hear much after that.

-0-

Two cracked ribs and one hell of a lot of bruising. That's what the medics said, anyway, even though they want him to go to the hospital for more X-rays. He'd waved them off and said he'd handle it, and then there'd been some arguing with Coach Hall, but now he's being left alone.

It could have been a lot worse, Derek knows, but he still wishes he could get back on the ice and skate that bastard into the boards like he'd meant to in the first place. It's going to be at least six weeks off the ice, and he'll probably miss a week of classes on top of it.

Derek reaches up carefully to rub at his eyes and tries not to think about how the game's going.

Someone huffs and sits down heavily next to him, and Derek moves his hand and slowly turns his head. It's a weird angle, and it's not like he can just flip over, but he'd recognise that hair anywhere. "Dex?"

"Yeah, so, Ransom and Holster are back in," Dex says, not looking at him. Derek's got the distinct feeling that Dex's arms are crossed over his chest.

"Okay," Derek says. "And you're not out there with Wilsey because…?"

"I got ejected from the game," Dex says flatly.

"You _what_?" Dex shifts and suddenly Derek can see his face. It looks almost as much of a mess as Derek's torso does, a bruise blooming over his left eye and a good amount of swelling to accompany it. His smile is fierce and lopsided; the left side of his mouth refuses to comply. "Holy _shit_ , Poindexter, what the hell-"

"You should see the other guy," Dex says, vicious and unapologetic, and something in Derek's gut twists at the way Dex's eyes are shining, sharp and smart and proud.

He's gonna blame the painkillers.

"The guy who landed on me," Derek guesses, and Dex nods. "Uh. Thanks, Dex, but-"

"No, shut the fuck up," Dex says, leaning in. "You remember - the playoffs last year, the video we had to watch after Bits got checked?'

"Yeah."

"And we all agreed that the fucker meant to do it," Dex goes on.

Derek starts to nod, thinks better of it and grunts. "Yeah."

"This was _more_ on purpose," Dex says. "It was - he saw you coming, Nursey. He planted himself so you'd go flying, and then he took his shot and fucking took a fall so he'd land on you."

Derek winces. "Explains how he managed to get right in the middle of my chest."

"Yeah, well," Dex scoffs. "I messed him up."

It's touching in a way that Derek wasn't expecting. There's nothing soft or sweet about Dex; Derek knows that from months of sniping at each other. He's got a mean streak that matches Derek's own, and the sheer simple fact that Derek's suddenly on Dex's good side makes him feel…

Painkillers, he reminds himself. It's the painkillers, not some awful swell of fondness and gratitude.

"Thanks," he says finally. "I mean - seriously, man. Thanks."

"Yeah, well," Dex says, and his sudden blush clashes terribly with his hair and his bruising. "I've got your back and whatever."

"Sheer poetry," Derek deadpans.

"You'd know," Dex agrees, not taking the needling, not sniping, not... 

Derek yawns hugely after a silence that stretches into awkward territory. "Sorry, man. I think the painkillers-"

"Right, of course," Dex says. He doesn't get up and leave, though, just shifts in his chair so he can watch the door. "Shut your face and sleep it off, Nursey."

Derek's got no idea how to handle this, whatever it is, so he closes his eyes and does just that.

**Author's Note:**

> [marklemelon has made an amazing playlist](http://8tracks.com/thatdudemark/taste-your-blood-in-my-mouth) that works super well with the dex/nursey in this! listen to it and rejoice. :D
> 
> [Follow me on tumblr](http://somehowunbroken.tumblr.com) for lots of crying about Zimmermanns, and also gooey feelings about the frogs.


End file.
